1. Field of the Invention
The present disclosure relates to machines for washing dirty articles such as dishes and more particularly to a dishwasher having heat recovery for improved energy efficiency.
2. Description of the Related Art
A dishwasher is a cabinet-like appliance that, with the aid of water and detergent, washes, rinses, and dries dishware, glassware, eating utensils, and most cooking utensils. Dishwashers are ubiquitous in most modern day households and are often used more than once per week. Parts washers also use water, detergents or solvents to wash parts in certain manufacturing operations to remove contaminants prior to performing subsequent operations such as painting, coating or packaging.
According to the US Department of Energy's Scout calculator, all combined US residential dishwashers consumed 286 TBtu/yr primary energy in the year 2016 and this consumption is projected to increase to 321 TBtu/yr in the year 2030. Most of this energy is used for heating water during the wash cycle and drying the dishes when a drying cycle option is selected.
What is needed is a washing machine that maintains satisfactory cleaning and drying performance while also reducing energy consumption.